Born June 1912 in Schenectady, New York to Judge John McMullen and Leah
McMullen, nee Campbell.
Attended University of Alabama but did not graduate. Eventually made
his way to New York City where he acted in character roles on and
off-broadway. McMullen was probably best known in New York theatre
circles as a teacher at the long defunct but apparently once reputable
Fagan (or Fagin?) School of Theatre in Manhattan. Later in life he
claimed to his son that both Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller had passed
through his classroom as students. McMullen's theatre carreer was
interrupted by World War II. He was drafted late in the war and went to
the European theatre as a combat engineer but did not see action.
A short film Mr. McMullen worked on while in the Army led to a change
of direction in his progessional life. He became a script-writer. One
of his projects "Toward Independence" the story of a one-legged Army
Veteran won the Oscar for best short-subject documentary in 1948. Mr.
McMullen wrote the script and was the principal creative force on the
project from its inception. He did not receive a co-directing credit on
the film. As a result he did not receive an Oscar statuette for his
contribution to the film. He sued the Academy in 1949 seeking to be
awarded a statuette. He lost, the court essentially finding that the
Academy was free to give its awards to whomever it pleased for whatever
reasons it pleased.
McMullen stayed with scriptwriting, eventually landing a job with
Granducci Scripts Inc., in Washington D.C.. He went on to write dozens
of film scripts for corporate clients on non-fiction subjects.
After 15 years with Granducci he briefly became a freelance
script-writer before being hired to head General Electric co.'s film
unit, relocating to his beloved hometown of Schenectady. But he held
his new position for only a few months when his health began failing. A
heart attack in 1968 let to his retirement. In January of 1974 he died
while undergoing heart surgery in Ellis hospital. He was survived by a
son, then 12 years old, Douglas Jr., and his wife of 14 years, Giovanna
Belforti McMullen. He was also survived by an older son from an earlier
marriage, John, with whom his second family lost contact.
